Harbhajan, Yuvraj ruled out of England series

London, Aug 3 (IANS) India’s off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh Wednesday were ruled out of the England series with injuries and have been replaced with Pragyan Ojha and Virat Kohli.

Yuvraj fractured his left index finger while Harbhajan, who is struggling with form, sustained an abdominal strain during the second Test match at Nottingham that India lost by 319 runs.

“Harbhajan Singh has a grade I abdominal muscle strain. Yuvraj will take around four weeks to recover and Harbhajan is likely to recover in three weeks. Both Kohli and Ojha will join the Indian team at the earliest,” N.Srinivasan, secretary of the Indian cricket board, said in a statement.

Yuvraj was injured Monday with Tim Bresnan’s short pitched delivery in the second innings of the Trent Bridge Test. The southpaw immediately went to a hospital in the neighbouring county of Derby, where doctors referred him to a specialist in London.

Harbhajan bowled just 13.4 overs in the second Test and grabbed one for 69. He returned with figures if one for 218 in the first Test at Lord’s.

The good news for India is that Virender Sehwag arrived here Wednesday morning and went straight to Northampton where the team will play a two-day warm-up game against Northants starting Friday. Sehwag missed the first two Tests and the West Indies tour since he was recuperating from a shoulder surgery.

Opener Gautam Gambhir and pace spearhead Zaheer Khan are also expected to be fit for the third Test at Edgbaston starting Aug 10.